10 Safest Towns In Connecticut: The 2024 Report

CONNECTICUT — If you're feeling snug and safe in your Connecticut home, the numbers support your gut.

SafeWise, a security product review platform, looked at FBI crime statistics for municipalities in Connecticut to compile its 10th annual Safest Cities report. A total of 46 towns met the criteria to be considered for ranking.

The company named Ridgefield the safest city in Connecticut for the second straight year. It was the only municipality to report zero violent crimes—and the only city to report fewer than 100 property crimes, coming in with 34. Ridgefield (2) and Simsbury (9) were the only towns to report fewer than 10 burglaries. And of Connecticut’s 10 safest cities, only Ridgefield, Wallingford, New Milford, and Torrington experienced a decrease in violent crime rates compared to the previous reporting year.

The Town of Groton saw the biggest jump year over year—moving from 17 to 10 this year. Its violent crime rate fell from 1.4 to 0.7 year over year.

Here are the 10 Safest Towns in Connecticut for 2024, according to SafeWise:

1. Ridgefield
2. Newtown
3. Wallingford
4. Simsbury
5. New Milford
6. Cheshire
7. Greenwich
8. Shelton
9. Torrington
10. Town of Groton

The rankings were based on FBI crime data. Cities and jurisdictions across the country voluntarily report the information through the FBI Summary Reporting System and National Incident-Based Reporting System. The most recent FBI data was released in October 2023 and accounts for crimes reported in 2022. SafeWise also used population thresholds in its reporting, according to the company.

Despite some recently released stats regarding vehicle theft in the Nutmeg State, there was still plenty of positive safety news to report. Connecticut claims the fourth-lowest violent crime rate in the country (2.0 incidents per 1,000 people), despite suffering an increase in violent crime year over year. Violent crime makes up 12 percent of all crime in Connecticut, which is 4 percentage points lower than the national average.

The state also holds the ninth-lowest overall property crime rate in the US, a rank two notches higher than last year. Robbery accounts for 46 percent of violent crime in Connecticut, which is 180 above the national average.

Do all these crime stats moving in the right direction mean Connecticut residents are sleeping well at night? No, no it does not. Fewer residents told SafeWise they felt safe in Connecticut compared to last year—51 percent versus 59 percent. The company's pollsters reported a 24 percent increase in concern about property crime and a 12 percent increase in personal experiences with property crime in Connecticut.

Whatever is setting Connecticut residents on edge does not seem to have much grounding in any real-life trauma. Only 5 percent of Connecticut residents claimed to have experienced a violent crime in the 12 months prior to the survey, which represents a 62 percent decrease year over year, according to SafeWise.

One odd and disturbing stat: the safest towns in the state reported 160 percent more rapes, collectively, than the state as a whole. Rape made up 24 percent of all violent crime in the safest cities, versus 9 percent across Connecticut.

How to cope? The security product review company reports that 31 percent of Connecticut residents use some form of personal protection — 5 percent lower than the national average. Pepper spray and pocket knives are Nutmeggers' most popular weapons of choice, according to SafeWise.